A Knight Without Fear Or Blame, A story about a knight. But you don't find out he becomes a knight Options

[TheBrume]

Acadian Thank you. I confused even myself with the twins, I hope I didn't confuse anyone else too much.

Grits Thanks. I really enjoyed the latest of Jerric's Story and I hope you do decide to do a book two!

jack cloudy Thank you. Read on and see how the uncle thinks.


Chapter Fourteen: Thoughts and Feelings
Late Last Seed 3E 313


What am I to do? My nephew is within these very walls, he is to be a knight. I find myself angry and grief striken at his presence.

I had hoped I could forgive. I prayed I could forget. But I have not forgotten and I have not forgiven. I feel torn. I want to hate, but I cannot. Lucius is an innocent and of my blood. But I feel uncomfortable around him, his eyes are the same bright blue as… hers. He has her hair too, the same sandy blonde. Whenever I see him he reminds me of her and of all that I could have had. Should have had.

And now he must live the life my brother was supposed to. And I can’t help but feel that it should be my son in this castle, that I should be dead and that Titus should be here writing this. But he is not, I am.
He wrote me a letter. I do not wish to recount what he wrote but, one day, I will have to. Lucius must be told. It is only right that he know what happened and why it happened. But not yet. Not yet.

Right now, he must work. He must be pushed hard. I have spent little time with him, but if he is his father’s son then, as much as I hate to say, he could be a great knight. It pains me, but I must be the one to push him. No matter how much grief it causes, it is my burden to bear.
He is my nephew. I hate him for his father. And yet I love him for his mother.

What am I to do?


Epilogue: Knighthood 101
The last day of First Seed. 3E 413

“A knight should be chivalrous.” The old scholar began. “Without chivalry a knight is a simply mercenary.” The wrinkled old man had been speaking for a while now, he spoke in a different way from Argentil, Lucius felt more inclined to stay awake.
“But what is chivalry. Antony?” He asked, staring, waiting for an answer.

“Bravery.” The boy replied. The old man looked thoughtful.
“What else. Elise?”
“Loyalty.” She said.
“Loyalty to whom?” He asked.
“The… grandmaster?” The old man shook his head. “Count? Emperor? Empire? Gods?” She continued, each answer becoming more desperate.
“Certainly, a knight must be loyal to all those things, including the grandmaster. But also to the people. Mostly to the people.” He looked at the assembled squires. “Lucius, if the count ordered you to slay the emperor, would you do it?”
Lucius hesitated. Would he? Probably not. Should he? He wasn’t sure. “No.” He replied at last.
“Correct. But if the count asked you to slay a group of bandits, you would do so?”
“Yes.” He replied, more quickly his time.
“And what if the people asked you to kill the count? What if the count was mad? What if he killed people everyday?”
Lucius was not sure, he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“Yes. You should. The people are those that the knight should protect, at the expense of everyone else. The count is not our master. We must be loyal to him, but not at the expense of the people. To go against the people is to be a common cut throat. The blades protect the Emperor. The Temple Knights protect the gods and the castle guard protect the count. You, future knights, protect the common man.”

“Furthermore,” he continued. “In order to guide you through your lives, you are expected to adhere to seven knightly virtues. These are what make you a knight. To disregard them is to disregard your duty and to go against what it means to be a knight.” The old man looked at each of the faces staring up at him.

“Honour. Defend your own and protect those of your friends and family. Do not cheat, to do so is a stain upon your own.

Valour. Be brave, do not shirk from a battle. Remember, courage on the battlefield is not the absence of fear, but the strength and determination to overcome it. However, d not allow your valour to stand in the way of the next virtue.

Wisdom. Do not enter a battle which you cannot win. Retreat to fight another day. Outwit your opponents and remember that your mind is your most powerful weapon. Keep it sharp and you shall win every engagement.

Integrity. Be truthful and consistent in your values and beliefs. To lie or hide the truth is another stain upon your honour.

Charity. Show mercy to your enemies whenever appropriate. Be kind to those less fortunate. You must be willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.”

Temperance. Control yourself in combat, let your enemy make his mistakes in peace. Restrain yourself off the battlefield too, do not surrender yourself to selfish desires.

Faith. Trust in yourself, trust in your brothers and sisters in arms. Trust in the Nine.

*******

End of Part One: Flight

*******

I'm going to continue with part two the next time I update. The next part will begin on Lucius' thirteenth birthday. So, yes, I will be skipping a sizable portion of his life. But ages ten through twelve are boring! Thirteen through to twenty provide more... everything! Comedy, romance, drama et cetera.
Also, I'm going to take a short break from this story (two weeks max). I've hit some sort of brick wall and I'm going to take some time to think it over. I've found that writing short stories helps break this wall down. I wrote a few short stories in January when I had no idea what to write for this. It helped a lot. So I think I'll do the same thing this time.

[Acadian]

I think you did fine with the twins in the prior episode. You made it perfectly clear that they were an unusual exception to the way the race of a mixed child is normally determined in Tamriel. By recognizing the question and answering it head on in your story you, in fact, avoided confusion in my humble opinion.

’He is my nephew. I hate him for his father. And yet I love him for his mother.’
A powerful and vexing dilemma. This brief visit with the thoughts of Lucius’ uncle answers some questions while raising new ones. Nicely done.

And Knighthood 101! Virtues that will stand any knight in good stead. I’m not surprised that the subject and instructor held Lucius’ attention better than the more. . . academic manner of Argentil!

Best wishes going forward as you work through what lay ahead in the adventures of Lucius.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Feb 22 2012, 01:39 PM

[Grits]

I really enjoyed both parts of this section. The uncle expressed his predicament powerfully and beautifully. Knighthood 101 laid out what Lucius will spend the next few years striving toward, so no worries about missing anything. I’m looking forward to the next part, whenever inspiration strikes!